Maturing is...

I feel like this year has been a lot about learning and maturing for me. I learned a lot of lessons this year that have taught me how to reframe difficult situations and how to keep my emotions controlled. This in turn matured me.

Maturing is... realizing that some friends are not meant to be your bestfriends. Not everyone can be there for you like you want them to, or how you are there for them. Not everyone needs another best friend like you do. So I learned not to let everyone in right away in hopes that they will become your best friend, because for all you know they may not even be in your life 6 months later.

Maturing is... realizing that your friends are also always going to choose/side with their boyfriends. And that is okay. It is just the way life goes and you can support them from afar.

Maturing is... realizing if someone is bullying you or trying to tear you down then there is something going on in THEIR life, and most of the time it has nothing to actually do with you. Maybe their home life is messed up, or they were raised differently, or they have something else bothering them and they need to take it out on someone.

Maturing is... realizing that when someone is trying to bully you or tear you down you do not need to act out against them. You can let the universe handle that bad energy and they will slowly be embarrassed as they cannot get a reaction out of you. I used to believe in revenge or being mean back, but now I see that it is better to not act on the anger in the moment. Let everyone around you slowly see who the person truly is through their experiences because they will see it eventually. A bad person will make enemies out of anyone and everyone eventually.

Maturing is... realizing you should NEVER plan anything a year in advance. Once you attach yourself to a plan and start dreaming about it then you leave yourself vulnerable to it crashing and burning. I've learned that often the things I think I'll be doing a year from now do not end up being what actually happens. At this point in our 20s I am just going to figure it out as I go because planning does not do me any good.

Maturing is... realizing that in a relationship there are two of you and it is not all about you. You need to check in on your partners feelings and make sure they are also recieving what they need from you. Whether that is more emotional support, more encouragement, or even more space.

Maturing is... realizing everyone is on a different path after high school and your friends that you used to relate to may not be so relatable anymore. That is just how our 20s go. Some of us start to mature faster and some don't mature at all. Some of us completely change within a few years and some us remain the same person we were in high school.

Maturing is... realizing you do not have to have your career path figured out right away. Of course it is nice if you have a job lined up right out of college, but if you don't even know exactly what you want to do after college then it is okay to test out a few different internships and jobs. It is all about the journey and the experience.

Maturing is... realizing that you can be sad that something did not work out how you wanted it to, but not for long. If it did not work out that just means it was not meant to be. Something better truly is coming. What belongs to you will find you.

Maturing this year has been a good thing. I have learned so much about myself but also about others. Everyone is doing their own thing and following their own path. Just because someone doesn't change their path or their ways for you does not mean they don't care about you. It just means your paths are going to diverge and then maybe someday they will cross again.